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| Images courtesy of Lightyear Entertainment |
Ray McKinnon’s a familiar character actor most notable for
his appearances in films like Bugsy, Apollo 13 and O Brother,
Where Art Thou? typically playing deeply Southern characters with thick
Georgian accents as well as featuring in the HBO series Deadwood as well
as FX’s Sons of Anarchy. A kind
of blood brother to the likes of Walton Goggins and Billy Bob Thornton,
McKinnon’s everywhere in film and television but rarely takes center stage
himself. But in 2001, McKinnon, his
recurring actor-producing partner Walton Goggins and McKinnon’s late
wife-actress-producer Lisa Blount unveiled a forty-minute short film entitled The
Accountant, a distinctly Southern-fried dose of Gothic dark comedy which
took home the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 2002
Oscars.
Inspired by the Drive-by Truckers song Sink Hole
and boiled down to three principal actors Ray McKinnon, Walton Goggins and
Eddie King with a distinctly Georgian sounding acoustic guitar score by Rusty
Andrews, it tells the story of a Georgian farm on the cusp of foreclosure. Commandeered by the O’Dell brothers Tommy
(Walton Goggins) and David (Eddie King), their shabby dilapidated shack being
the sole building left on the multi-generational farmlands, they enlist the
help of a nameless quirky accountant (Ray McKinnon sporting a dressy suit, tie
and ridiculous sideburns). However, very
quickly the accountant’s unconventional methods, including but not limited to
smoking, drinking and gorging himself on white frosted donut holes, begin to
derail from their initial intention.
Ballooning into conspiracy theories about a corporatist drive to erode
away at the American family unit with particular emphasis on a quest to
preserve the American South and Southern culture, it becomes a one-of-a-kind
Southern Gothic creative cinematic expression.
From its scratchy yet Earthy grainy cinematography by Blake
B. Jackson, beautifully preserved on Blu-ray disc from restored film elements
by Lightyear Entertainment, exquisitely capturing the ruin and dilapidation of
the Old South and a dream for a newer, better one, The Accountant previously
released on DVD in 2009 now gets a full blown 1080p digital upgrade on Blu-ray
disc. Initially shown at Slamdance Film
Festival, the film languished in the ether until eight years after the initial
appearance. Walton Goggins who was a
co-producer on the project with McKinnon’s wife and producing partner Lisa
Blount is excellent in the leading part as one of the two brothers trying to
sort out the problem of the farmland foreclosure alongside Eddie King as the
beleaguered brother eager to wash his hands of the whole mess. McKinnon’s a familiar face across many films
including the Coen Brothers and Ron Howard’s work, but as the titular The
Accountant McKinnon all but completely creates a wholly original character
from the ground up. Distinctly Southern
fried, peculiar and mysterious but somehow speaking to a higher purpose, he
feels at once mythic and/or simply a drunken fool. The film doesn’t really tell for certain
which adds to its mystical allure.
Shown in 2001 but not receiving a physical release for eight
years, now in 2026 Lightyear Entertainment who are also rereleasing McKinnon’s
2007 comedy Randy & the Mob, The Accountant is a splendid
little short film that exudes a Southern Gothic vibe that at once satirizes
Georgian rural life while also being a paean to preserving it. Ray McKinnon’s a unique and original,
charming screen and filmmaking talent and Lightyear Entertainment have done a
great job bringing this back to the public in 1080p. The only thing that’s somewhat perplexing
about the release is that it has no special features to speak of and the same
short itself is included in the Blu-ray extras for Randy & the Mob. While I have both copies currently for posterity,
fans are inclined to just get McKinnon’s 2007 comedy as
two-for-the-price-of-one. In any case,
both The Accountant and Randy & the Mob are welcome,
distinctly Southern dark comedies with a unique and endearing flavor you can’t
help but want to come back for more of.
--Andrew Kotwicki
